Brands are featuring user-generated digital content in their consumer-facing contests, adding a new online angle to a marketing strategy that has been used for decades.

Canon USA, Buick, and Lee Jeans are among the marketers using the approach. In recent months, brands have launched a spate of online initiatives encouraging consumers to share personal stories by uploading essays or photos, for instance, to compete for various prizes.

Canon created a contest for its “Your Second Shot” campaign, promoting a real-life couple − a first for the company − while showing off its ability to prevent consumers from “losing” important shots to poor quality.

The couple traveled to Barcelona to take a photograph at the café where the woman’s parents first met. After the photo they took didn’t turn out well, Canon sent them back to Spain to recreate it with a PowerShot digital camera. The company is asking participants to upload a similar story and photo depicting a memory that was lost in a poor image from poor lighting.

Does your marketing strategy include running contests to encourage users to generate content and build consumer interest in your brand?

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